Munda Biddi - Finishing ride to Bunbury. Train to Perth and ride to airport.
Mark had to have some major renovations on his bike, as he wanted it in good
repair for his return to Siberia. The cassette and chain was replaced as well
as a general service. We also enjoyed a sausage sizzle hosted by the local
Lions club. Funny, no one was around until we arrived, then a horde of people
came over for a feed.
- Distance travelled = 60km
- Temperature 10 to 29. Dry. No rain and fairly calm.
On walking around the town strips I discover that Collie has a long history of
cycling. There used to be a velodrome, which got flooded and someone
waterskied on it. Also the
Collie to Donnybrook
road race which attracts a good following and prize money. There is a shop
window with several articles from the Collie times.
We left at 10:30 am, which was OK as Bunbury is only 60km away on bitumen. We
rode along the main road as it had a nice wide shoulder and offered the most
direct route. We were no longer interested in dirt side tracks. It took a bit
of getting used to, the noise of 100 km/h traffic, albeit minimal, is
intimidating.
The road out is on long high undulating terrain. It was generally smooth, though not suited to road bikes due to the amount of bogan diamonds on the shoulder (ie glass). We did not ride the road proper in general because of the vehicular speeds. Mark suffered a flat tyre one kilometre out of the railway station in Bunbury.
There was a fantastic long descent coming down from the ranges to intersect the Coalfields road to South Western highway. This was great for an adrenaline junkie like me. Mark hit 60 km/h and I was soaring past. These speeds are exhilarating on heavily laden mountain bikes.
We stopped at the railway station to confirm bookings and enquire about the passage for our bikes. Contrary to web advice, we do not have to disassemble the bikes for the train. There is, however, limited room for bikes as there are no longer separate luggage carriages. No problem though for us as we were the only ones. It is a good idea, therefore to ring the station to enquire of space for bicycles (and they charge an extra $10 for the privilege).
Bunbury is a coastal town situated just south of the Leschenault inlet and Collie river, which sources at the Wellington dam. The town is quite pretty with its parks and beach front. It also has some dolphins that come in regularly that you can pay to swim with at the research centre, or if you are backpacker you can do so for free if you volunteer at the centre.
The road out is on long high undulating terrain. It was generally smooth, though not suited to road bikes due to the amount of bogan diamonds on the shoulder (ie glass). We did not ride the road proper in general because of the vehicular speeds. Mark suffered a flat tyre one kilometre out of the railway station in Bunbury.
There was a fantastic long descent coming down from the ranges to intersect the Coalfields road to South Western highway. This was great for an adrenaline junkie like me. Mark hit 60 km/h and I was soaring past. These speeds are exhilarating on heavily laden mountain bikes.
We stopped at the railway station to confirm bookings and enquire about the passage for our bikes. Contrary to web advice, we do not have to disassemble the bikes for the train. There is, however, limited room for bikes as there are no longer separate luggage carriages. No problem though for us as we were the only ones. It is a good idea, therefore to ring the station to enquire of space for bicycles (and they charge an extra $10 for the privilege).
Bunbury is a coastal town situated just south of the Leschenault inlet and Collie river, which sources at the Wellington dam. The town is quite pretty with its parks and beach front. It also has some dolphins that come in regularly that you can pay to swim with at the research centre, or if you are backpacker you can do so for free if you volunteer at the centre.
I stayed at the YHA Bunbury backpackers in town. It was quite vibrant, though
full of young drinkers and smokers which put me off a bit in anticipation that
sleep might be difficult - fortunately not the case. The YHA has plenty of
bicycles which can be used to get around town.
Arriving on Saturday, the town was alive with music in the pubs. I did not need to enter as they were loud enough to listen to outside. It takes a bit of effort to get into city party mode, especially after two weeks in the quiet country.
Sunday:
At 6:00 am the train leaves. I got up at 5:00 am and left at 5:15 from the backpackers. I almost ended up riding to Perth, missing the turn to the station. Fortunately we checked the station out yesterday, so I had some idea of its location - things look different at night!
The train trip was pleasant. It had a small store where you could stock up on junk food delights such as pies, chips, coke and beer. The rolling country views had a soporific effect and soon sent me to sleep.
Ships in the night, so the saying goes. Yesterday I noted my friend Jenny was over from USA and was in Perth. I suggested we catch up in Perth for a coffee. It turns out she was actually in Bunbury visiting her daughter, and was a bit jetlagged to respond in a timely manner !
I thought I would go to the visitor centre in Perth to get a trail map of the cycle paths. The visitor centre does not open until 11:00am My flight is at 12:30pm so I am not going to hang around. Fortunately the internet and Google showed me all I need to know. Quite simple really. Follow the Swan river out until you hit a bridge, cross over and then follow the highway until the signs guide you to the airport.
The cycle track along the Swan river is very pretty and makes for a pleasant ride There was a marathon race today on the cycle track and some sort of major motor cycle meet just over the bridge on the Swan river.
Arriving on Saturday, the town was alive with music in the pubs. I did not need to enter as they were loud enough to listen to outside. It takes a bit of effort to get into city party mode, especially after two weeks in the quiet country.
Sunday:
At 6:00 am the train leaves. I got up at 5:00 am and left at 5:15 from the backpackers. I almost ended up riding to Perth, missing the turn to the station. Fortunately we checked the station out yesterday, so I had some idea of its location - things look different at night!
The train trip was pleasant. It had a small store where you could stock up on junk food delights such as pies, chips, coke and beer. The rolling country views had a soporific effect and soon sent me to sleep.
Ships in the night, so the saying goes. Yesterday I noted my friend Jenny was over from USA and was in Perth. I suggested we catch up in Perth for a coffee. It turns out she was actually in Bunbury visiting her daughter, and was a bit jetlagged to respond in a timely manner !
I thought I would go to the visitor centre in Perth to get a trail map of the cycle paths. The visitor centre does not open until 11:00am My flight is at 12:30pm so I am not going to hang around. Fortunately the internet and Google showed me all I need to know. Quite simple really. Follow the Swan river out until you hit a bridge, cross over and then follow the highway until the signs guide you to the airport.
The cycle track along the Swan river is very pretty and makes for a pleasant ride There was a marathon race today on the cycle track and some sort of major motor cycle meet just over the bridge on the Swan river.
I made a mistake of getting my pedals loosened at the bike shop in Bunbury.
The Shimano SLX cranks are an aluminium alloy, by having the pedals loose they
flogged out the thread. The arm on the chain drive side was affected, meaning
I needed a complete new crank and chain wheel assembly ($170). Why did I not
bring that $16 pedal spanner with me, it along with the Loctite was sitting on
my desk at home. The pedals needed to be removed in order to pack the bike in
its transport bag. I messaged the others to warn them not to do the same.
I got to the airport - just. I had to tape my foot to the left pedal and lop along for a couple of kilometres. It was, needless to say a difficult process. Luckily there were no hills and only a short distance to cover and plenty of time to get there.
I packed the bike at the airport, but could not remove the loosened left pedal. It did its duty and tightened itself with the rotation of the pedal in favour of the thread. So I worked out a way to insert the wheels in the bag on the left side to buffer out the pedal.
I got to the airport - just. I had to tape my foot to the left pedal and lop along for a couple of kilometres. It was, needless to say a difficult process. Luckily there were no hills and only a short distance to cover and plenty of time to get there.
I packed the bike at the airport, but could not remove the loosened left pedal. It did its duty and tightened itself with the rotation of the pedal in favour of the thread. So I worked out a way to insert the wheels in the bag on the left side to buffer out the pedal.
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